Terry
Eighties babies came of age at just the right moment to enjoy the sustained excellence of the early 1990s Portland Trail Blazers. These children, indoctrinated as the next generation of true Blazermaniacs, were brought up in a homogenous utopia where crime and poverty were relatively non-existent and the only things to complain about were the rain and the referees.
Ask these children about their earliest memories and we can't recall "Read my lips, no new taxes" but we can tell you about the long-gone Memorial Coliseum, we can recite the lyrics to the misguided "Bust A Bucket," and all of us, without question, know the secret to winning basketball games: you've got to make your free throws.
The team that introduced eighties babies to basketball was led by a SuperDuper star of the highest order: Clyde Drexler. He floated and flew well above the floor, way over our heads. Clyde looked eye to eye with immortals like Magic and Michael. We looked on in awe. The man could dunk on a 12 foot goal. How does a 3rd grader relate? That's, what, like two bunk beds? True appreciation was not possible -- his gifts were not of this world. And they were recognized by the team before we had a chance to adequately process them.
The man, the mortal, that shared the backcourt with Clyde was Terry Porter. He with the extra hours after practice. He with the fearless drives to the hoops. He with the hugs and shouts for his teammates. In Terry's image, the parents of many eighties babies saw their children. In Terry's image, eighties babies, as we grew up, started to see ourselves. In Terry's image, youth basketball coaches of the early 1990s saw their players: the essential values were toughness, confidence, and dedication. Those values translated to any court -- from elementary school to the NBA Finals. Just look at Terry. Watch how he does it.
While Clyde was staring down the greatest to ever lace them up, Terry was, most memorably, high-fiving a fan in the front row, man of the people. Of the people, by the people, for the people. That was Terry. That was indelible.
Eighties babies aren't babies anymore. We're getting older. Some are balding. Some are sporting spare tires. Many are getting wistful. Pulling out the old basketball cards. Dusting off the Dairy Queen glasses. Piecing together memories from old VHS tapes and ratty t-shirts. Finally comprehending Drexler by accumulating enough hours watching basketball to put his greatness into perspective.
For a generation of Oregonians and basketball fans that are only able to know 1977 by reading the textbooks and listening to the oral histories, Clyde, Terry, Jerome, Buck, Duck and Cliffy have always been the pinnacle. To consider what came before is impossible; to compare what came after is, simply put, incomparable.
From 1989 to 1993, eighties babies had it just about perfect. But it took many of us 15 years, hundreds of games, to realize how good we had it. How good it was to have Terry leading the entire state, even Clyde sometimes, into battle.
Terry Porter put his stamp on this franchise and city and tonight, at long last, he was recognized. His number 30 deservedly entered the rafters. A generation of fans -- alongside their parents and children-- followed him, cheering, yelling his name, just like we learned to do when we were young.
-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)
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21 comments
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Comments
Great job, Ben
So much of this rings so true to me (except the baldness part). Tonight brought back so many memories for me. I was born about two months before the championship in ‘77, so I was alive, but the pinnacle for me, so far, is definitely those early 90’s teams. I can’t wait to see that topped someday. I can’t even imagine what it will feel like.
You deserve a lot of credit for making this a hot topic in the blogosphere and forcing management to look at it.
Awesome night all around!
by BlazerD on Dec 17, 2008 1:13 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Love it Ben!
Excellent tribute to one of the greatest Blazers to ever play the game. You did however leave out one huge detail…Terry was our clutch player. In our little circle we used to refer to Terry as the Iceman because he seemed to play better as the intensity level rose, especially at the line.
It was absolutely stellar to see his banner raised tonight, it really brought a huge smile to my face and some mist to my eyes…just a special moment.
by Wotan on Dec 17, 2008 1:24 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Ben , excellent piece
I am 3 for 3. Buzzed up: check. Facebook: check. HoopHype: check.
Yeah so putting the meaning of all this into perspective is important and you captured why Terry is so loved by us here.
Sophia
Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. - William Shakespeare
by BlazerFan1 on Dec 17, 2008 1:27 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
I'd say that this describes my experience
pretty well.
I wonder if the next generation is watching this team and will have a similar conversation in 15 years, but with rings!
Blazer's fan since '84, Currently exiled in San Antonio
↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B A
by HurraKane212 on Dec 17, 2008 5:48 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Anybody get the feeling that Ben...
… is a bit of a Terry Porter fan?
Of course so am I. I think he’s my favorite Blazer, after Buck Williams.
hakkaa päälle !
by timg56 on Dec 17, 2008 7:06 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Not my 80s experience
Then again, I was born in ’69 so I was a surly teenager in the 80s.
by DonkeyShins on Dec 17, 2008 7:42 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Someone witty has to do a caption for this picture!
My sense of humor is screaming that someone will have a good one for this. Unfortunately I can’t think of one other than:
“If I ignore him maybe he will go away” or “Please don’t throw a shoe”
Which are pretty lame. I know someone will have a good one.
"I saw him in the face" Sergio's quote on the latest alley-oop to Rudy.
by blazermaniac32 on Dec 17, 2008 8:43 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
I got one
Porter is thinking, “If I don’t make eye contact, maybe he won’t get distracted and realize he is trying to record this with his flash drive.”
by tominhawaii on Dec 17, 2008 9:15 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I'm spent a good amount of time recently...
trying to figure out where I put my stinking DQ Blazer glasses.
Man I wish I could find them.
"When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car"
by you'vegottomakeyourfreethrows on Dec 17, 2008 8:46 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
TP! TP! TP!
I think what we all appreciate about TP, was that he was successful because he had to work at it, not because he was blessed with otherworldly physical talent…..although he has more physical talent in one finger that I have in my whole body…..
You captured that well, Ben.
by antediluvian on Dec 17, 2008 8:56 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Bust A Bucket
Why does Bust A Bucket always seem to get so much hype when the first Blazers’ hit was Rip City Rhapsody? I never understand that. I was born in ’80 and I can still bust out every lyric of RCP at will, while BAB is mostly forgotten. RCR was the original hit, BAB was just the lame attempt to recapture the one-hit-wonder magic.
by galway on Dec 17, 2008 9:41 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Bust a Bucket
Was so much easier to get into! I remember every single word….Rip City Rhapsody was sung my 2 dudes with the Blazer players as merely fill ins. Dan Reed made it easy to sing and it was flamboyantly funny.
www.bustabucket.com
by GUnit on Dec 17, 2008 9:51 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Totally agree
Much better overall. People try to equate being first with being the best. If that was so, I would have to give up my nice laptop for an Apple II C or whatever those early crappy computers were.
That’s not to say that some people don’t prefer RCR over BAB… and apparently some do and that’s fine… but the majority prefer BAB. In a democratic society, BAB wins.
by Bust a Bucket on Dec 17, 2008 6:29 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I totally agree
RCR much better…can still rap it.
Sometimes I feel like I'm going in different directions...
by porterfan30 on Dec 17, 2008 10:49 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I don't agree
Bust a Bucket is a better overall song. People have forgotten about Rip City “Rap-shoddy”… People still remember Bust a Bucket. There’s a reason.
by Bust a Bucket on Dec 17, 2008 6:26 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Bust a Bucket has way better lyrics
It’s funny and actually tells a story… not just repeating the same crappy phrase over and over again.
by Bust a Bucket on Dec 17, 2008 6:25 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
You do realize
That before either of those, in a quick attempt to capitalize on the Chicago Bulls’ “Superbowl Shuffle”, the Blazers came up with an absolutely rotten little gem that had a chorus something like, “We are the Blazers…the rad, bad Blazers. And we’ll be red hot and rockin’ ’til we top the NBA.” You could barely understand some of the verses. In any case, this was well before either RCR or BAB and thus was technically their first hit.
—Dave
by Dave on Dec 18, 2008 3:24 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
As and eighties baby born right here in Portland I loved this. Loved to see TP get his last night too. Great guy, great teams, great times. You just had to be there.
by ArbyOSU on Dec 17, 2008 4:19 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Dusting off the Dairy Queen glasses.
I dug out my Dairy Queen glasses last month and have them on display at my Blazer’s Shrine in my Man-Cave.
by Avoozl on Dec 17, 2008 6:34 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
The story got picked up by Ball Don't Lie
by Norsktroll on Dec 18, 2008 10:10 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
dang Canucks
gotta love bloggers who live closer to the arctic circle.
by Bust a Bucket on Dec 18, 2008 2:12 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

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